I think the amount of modding/tuning required to achieve good results with a low-end printer is a turn-off for most people. Imagine if you had to spend 40-100 hours modding your microwave before you could start cooking quick weeknight meals - that amount of effort isn't worth the trade-off unless you're a modding enthusiast.

I second the recommendations for Prusa and Bambu Labs. My Prusas are especially reliable for daily tasks, and started my obsession with 3D printing a few years back. If you have an open weekend coming up, the self-assembly Prusa kit is a delightful example of excellent technical documentation.

I recently bought a Prusa Mini+ (self assembly kit) and it is truly a fantastic product. The documentation is phenomenal. The step-by-step guide makes it very easy to assemble, and the best part is that when you are done you know every part and understand where to open it if eg. the filament gets stuck somewhere.

Maybe comparable to running MacOS v. Linux for a home machine. They're both basically *nix, but if you're the kind of person who enjoys tinkering and digging around in the guts of the machine, Linux might be the fun way to go. If you just want to use the machine, Mac might be a better choice.

Then again, I use a Mac at home (Linux servers though), and have an Ender 3, so maybe that comparison isn't as valid as I thought it was.

The newer ender 3 pros come with a lot of the mods included now (like the updated board). I think the only real thing I’d mod if I bought another is a bl touch and maybe a pei sheet, wasn’t a fan of the included one.